This invention refers to electrical connectors of circular type and, more in particular, is directed to a female electrical connector for low and/or high voltage connecting devices, mainly used for the connection of solenoid valves, pumps, motors, sensors and the like, capable of working under mechanically and electrically stressed conditions.
Both the female and the male connectors can be either of the square or rectilinear type, since each of them is provided with two or more male and female type of electrical contact members, which can be axially coupled together.
Electrical connectors of the aforementioned kind are widely in use in several fields, and generally comprise a casing made of rubber or other suitable plastic material, over moulded to a contact-supporting body of nylon or any other substantially rigid type of electrically insulating material, in which the seats for housing the electrical contacts are obtained.
A sliding and freely rotating bush of one of the two connectors, externally surrounding the contact-support body, screws onto a ring nut of the other connector, to maintain them in an appropriately coupled condition.
Circular electrical connectors of conventional-type present a number of drawbacks, the main one primarily consists in an insufficient contact pressure between the male and female electrical contacts of the two connectors, which in turn is liable to cause serious difficulties for the electrical equipments to which they are connected, especially at low input current and/or voltage values.
In conventional type connectors it is consequently extremely difficult to guarantee the certainty of the electrical contact, due to the fact that, in order to allow the introduction of the male contact elements, the female contact elements must be able to widen out inside their housing; for this reason the housing must be shaped in such as way as not to create any interference with the radially expansible part of the female electrical contact, which could therefore easily slip out the support-body during the assembling.
There is also the problem of ensuring a satisfactory watertight seal between the two coupled male and female connectors; in this connection, use is normally made of an annular gasket in an appropriate seat, designed to be pressed between facing surfaces of the two connectors.
Even though the use of annular gaskets affords a satisfactory seal, in practice it is difficult to guarantee a uniform sealing pressure around the entire circumference of the connectors, with the consequent risk of moisture or water infiltration at the points where the gasket becomes deformed or is compressed to a lesser degree.
The general scope of this invention is to provide a new and improved electrical connecting device, comprising a male connector and a female connector, which are particularly suitable for remedying the above-mentioned problems.
In particular, one scope of this invention is to provide an electrical contact device as referred to above, which is capable of providing a higher contact pressure between the male and female electrical contact members of the two connectors, thereby eliminating any risk of false contacts, and of such kind as to ensure a satisfactory electrical contact between the two connectors.
A still further scope of this invention is to provide an electrical connecting device as referred to previously, which is capable of ensuring a more efficient watertight seal, and is provided with means capable of preventing an accidental unscrewing of the two coupling ring nuts, under any condition of use of the connectors.
More in particular, according to the invention an electrical connecting device has been provided comprising:
a male connector and a female connector, in which both the connectors comprise
a casing and a contact-support body of electrically insulating material; and
in which each of the connectors is provided with an axially sliding and threadable locking nut which can be screwed against annular shoulders of the contact-support bodies, wherein:
the contact-support body of the female connector is made of elastomeric material;
wherein each electrical contact member of the female connector comprises a conical portion elastically yielding in a radial direction, press-fitted into a seating hole of the contact-support body in elastomeric material of the connection device; and
wherein the contact-support bodies of the female and male connectors present opposite annularly shaped shoulder surfaces, designed to be sealingly pressed one against the other in the coupled condition of the electrical connecting device.